MBA 'career objective'

Say you want to become a portolio manager firs and leave it at that dot go off and say im gonna replace Steve jobs in the role of a new tech firm

I know right, it's kind of intense to say you want to start your own firm... in another sense though, starting your own small fund is not like an unreasonable aspiration.... It's pretty normal.

this is confusing me.

I know what you mean. I've always thought that starting your own shop is a realistic aspiration (ambitious, but within reason).

I know a few people who have started their own firms in the past 3 years, after having been successful at other firms or spectacular failures in one case! (mostly at the MD level, some advisory, some investing).

Not all of them will become publicly listed mega-funds (some may actually fail or "go nowhere"), but do you really need more than 6 professionals and a bit of office space in London, New York and/or Hong Kong to be a "global" alternative investment firm? It's not the same thing as being the next Google, or pets.com!

The way I'm addressing it in apps is to make my short-term goal very simple and "normal" (e.g. get a junior PM role in my pre-MBA sector to build a track record) and my long term goal modest (e.g. start a small but reputable multi-strategy firm with partners internationally and grow it over time). Or something like that. Maybe fit in a related example/anecdote from my past.

Relinquis is right. I think you want to bridge it so you show short-term goal, how that'll help, and then go to "in the long-term, I'd like to start my own fund." You could always make it a bit more narrow and say you want to grow it from there.

That's the approach I am taking as well. Go fairly big on the long term goals but be sure to show a clear "bridge", etc...

dunno how big id go.. id probably say soemthing like analyst > port manager > small fund 'and seek to grow it from there' without explicitly stating that you want to turn it into the next blackrock

I wonder what Bill Ackman of Gotham Partners/Pershing Square wrote on his HBS essay. He ended up starting his own firm with an HBS classmate with seed money from professional contacts and "friends and family".

It would be pretty cool if he actually said that's what he had wanted to do on his application.

Dear XYZ school,

My goal is to get an MBA here so I can get recruited for a higher paying job and get access to your alumni network. I will hand you shitloads of money on the back end ("donations") and make room for other alums of this institution if they call me. I will also make it a point to become successful without getting indicted, and will be active in preserving and/or raising the public profile of the school.

I will also send my children here, and hand you even more money on the backend (see: "donations")

Thank you for your consideration,

:D

P.S. I applied to other schools, but they can suck it. I actually want to go here.

The sky's the limit in terms of career goals AS LONG AS you can convincingly illustrate a realistic plan for achieving those goals, AND they reflect a degree of passion- regardless if that passion is wanting to change the world, or simply provide for future generations of your family.

How will your short-term post MBA goal impact your ability to achieve your long-term career objectives? How will getting an MBA help you achieve your short-term goal, and is the goal in line with the school's mission? Be mindful that "fitting in" with a B-schools particular character is an important component of the admissions process, because admissions committees are well aware that goals have a habit of changing.